HM Revenue and Customs slash 90 Bootle jobs

Feb 25 2010 by Vicki Kellaway, Bootle Times

Triad building

UNION leaders warned taxpayers are heading for tax code chaos after 90 Revenue and Customs jobs were slashed in Bootle.

All of the cuts at The Triad building, Stanley Road, are in the Customer Operations’ directorate.

That is the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) department responsible for correcting millions of tax codes issued in error.

If taxpayers receive an incorrect tax code, it means they are either left out of pocket or facing an unexpected tax bill in future.

The union, PCS, claims the job losses could cause a crisis with the work to correct the codes left undone when the staff depart.

The 90 workers have all been told their contracts will not be renewed when they cease this spring.

Local PCS representative John Virtue said: “We are deeply saddened and angry that so many of our members have found out they are to lose their jobs at the end of March.

“This anger is made worse by the fact that the work will still be there, long after our members have been made redundant.”

He said HMRC was being “enveloped in a crisis”.

“The only way to address the problem over tax codes is to put enough resources in place so we can correctly deal with the taxpayers’ affairs.”

The 90 workers are among 747 workers nationwide whose contracts will not be renewed in a crackdown on Government efficiency.

That includes workers who have been employed for up for four years on fixed-term contracts.

Mr Virtue said: “For the Government to cut another 800 jobs, at this time of crisis in the tax system, is beyond all realms of logic, common sense and human decency.”